It is dangerous to believe that what I am thinking is true!

‘We must admit at least the possibility that everything we believe to be true is not true’- Thomas M Easley.

I loved yesterday’s thought on speaking tree. It reminded me of an incident that happened a while ago.

A person I know was sitting in a coffee shop. On that particular day, he was very angry. The reason of his anger was that he was very sure that the people in his life were after him. Most of his friends and family members were ignorant and were trying to pull him down in his life, and that was stopping him from achieving his true potential!

While, sipping some green tea, as the soothing effects of the tea took effect, suddenly all the anger vanished. And in a moment he was back to normal awareness. In that moment this person realized that what he was thinking, for so long, was untrue!

He was angry because of his own expectations and frustrations he had faced in life, and somehow his mind had managed to convince him that it is all the fault of people in his life who are not living as per his high standards.

Such a realization always comes as a shock! How can the mind deceive us so much? How could anger have coloured every thought of a sane, intelligent man.

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It felt really scary that he could not hundred percent trust his own thoughts.

But, this person was luckier than he realized that day. He had realized that his thoughts were not right, that he was wrong in his thinking.

For most people this realization never comes about in their whole life/lives. Now some people are more prone to be too sure of themselves, like my friend above, but this phenomenon happens with a lot of people. It is rare to realize that often our thoughts themselves are the problems, not other people.

It is actually very dangerous to be very sure of one’s thoughts, not only psychologically but also spiritually. Believing your own thoughts too much, stops a person from being open-minded and accepting in life. The consequence of trying to impose one’s own standards and rules on other people is distancing people from you. The result in the long term is loneliness.

When such a person, who is very sure of their own thoughts and feels others are wrong, meets spiritual healers or joins a spiritual group to get more happiness or peace of mind, it may actually make his/her attitude worse!! In such a case, spiritual practices may actually cause harm, by developing spiritual arrogance and making a person believe that they are ‘great’, and hence, others cannot live by their high ideals!

The key is that when it comes to believing your own thoughts, try and keep the skepticism intact. Keep open the possibility that what we are thinking about ourselves, others and life in general, may not be entirely true! This thought is only the beginning of true change, yet it might be the most important beginning.